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11.06.2010

Coq au Vin Our Way

Last week's attempts at making tarte tatin and aligot, both classically French dishes, inspired us to remain in France, as it were, and take a stab at coq au vin. Tom Colicchio and his purist attitude toward ingredients aside, we planned on using regular old chicken for our dish. And, since Amy doesn't care for mushrooms, there are none in our version. Thus, we give you "Coq au Vin Our Way."

We started by marinating the chicken parts (drumsticks and thighs) in wine for a couple of hours before the braising began. This helped intensify the rich wine flavor of the dish. Then we browned them (thought not long enough, it turns out) and braised them in the wine with some vegetables, bacon, chicken stock and herbs mixed in. A bit too much flour made our sauce a little thick but not terribly so.

We served our coq au vin with roasted potatoes and minted green beans. It was a hearty meal that was perfect for a fall weekend.

Cooks' Note:

A few days later, we realized our TiVo had taped Secrets of a Restaurant Chef for us (it knows us so well...) and it turns out the "secret" was coq au vin. If we had watched this before cooking, we would have floured the chicken to help it brown and not added the flour later. You decide, and let us know!

Ingredients:

2 lbs. frying chicken parts (we used drumsticks and thighs)

2 cups red wine

5 slices thickly-cut bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

2 garlic cloves, chopped

2 tablespoons flour whisked with 2 tablespoons softened butter

1 1/2 cups chicken stock

2 sprigs fresh thyme

2 bay leaves

salt and pepper to taste

Marinate the chicken in the wine for approximately two hours. Remove the chicken parts and pat dry with paper towels. Reserve the wine for cooking later. Heat the oven to 375. In a roasting pan, heat the oil over medium heat and cook the bacon for about three minutes. Add the diced onion and chopped garlic and cook, stirring well, until onions are translucent, about four minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove all ingredients from the pan and set aside. Turn the heat to medium-high and brown the chicken on all sides in small batches, then set aside. Reduce heat to low and add the flour/butter mixture to the pan. Stir until the fat is absorved and the slowly pour in the reserved wine. Add the chicken stock and bring to a boil. Return the chicken, onion, garlic and bacon to the pan. Add thyme sprigs, bay leaves, salt and pepper. Cover and bake for 40 minutes.